by James Kempton (follow him on twitter @ukbettingpro) The two sides come into this game in contrasting form: Fulham brimming with confidence following their recent 5-0 whitewashing of Wolves whilst Villa appears to be limping towards the finish line. Aston Villa are a poor 3-4-6 in their own building with their only wins on home soil coming against Norwich, Wigan and Blackburn. Keep in mind not a single one of those sides sit in the top half of the EPL. Fulham isn’t exactly a road juggernaut either as they are 2-5-6 on their travels. However, they have lost just two of their last eight EPL games and one of those was at league power Manchester City meanwhile Aston Villa has mustered just 1 win in their last 8 EPL contests. With injuries to key striker Darren Bent and the return to LA of the lively Robbie Keane, the home side is struggling for attacking options. Despite the absence of key personnel they will be spurred on by a passionate home crowd to play on the front foot but this isn’t the chosen method of play for their naturally defensive minded coach Alex McLeish. However, McLeish is under pressure to grab some quick wins to ensure Villa’s EPL survival.  His move from city rival Birmingham last summer was not well received by the locals.  The pragmatic approach he takes to the game has been heavily criticized by both the fans and the local media. When Villa does push men forward into attacking areas this will play right into Fulham’s hands.  I see Fulham launching countless counter attacking raids using the pace of Johnson and Duff to wreak havoc on a slow Villa backline. Fulham will provide an attacking threat throughout the game whilst Villa...

By James Kempton Follow him on twitter @ukbettingpro The transfer window slammed shut on Tuesday January 31st. With that the music started and all the teams began to belt out that Shirley Bassey classic ‘I am what I am’ or in their case: ‘They are what they are’.  All the money in the world (Manchester City), the biggest club in the world (Manchester United), or the wheeling and dealing side (Tottenham) cannot help the three title contenders anymore.  The title chase is far from the two horse race many believe and great betting opportunities will abound between now and May. I was once taught as a youngster the value in a three horse field is always on the darkhorse; will it apply in the EPL? With 13 games left the top of the table is as below : Manchester City         P25 W19 D3 L3 GD 45 Pts 60 Manchester United   P25 W18 D4 L3 GD 36 Pts 58 Tottenham Hotspur P25 W16 D5 L4 GD 24 Pts 53 Both Manchester teams have their fate in their own hands as the gap is a mere 2 pts. They are set to meet on Monday April 30th at the Etihad Stadium and that could serve as the elimination game. To add extra spice, that is the weekend directly following the second leg of the Europa League semi finals. Both clubs remain at present in that competition and have stated their desire to progress as far as possible. This may mean one, or maybe both, will have had a long journey from somewhere in Europe in midweek. Tottenham hosts struggling Blackburn that weekend and despite needing some help to reach the top of the table, could gain solid ground then. With just thirteen games to go though...